1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, a recording method, a reproducing apparatus, a reproducing method, and a record medium, in particular, to those corresponding to a multimedia format such as QuickTime.
2. Description of the Related Art
To handle data recorded by a recording and reproducing apparatus having a built-in camera, a digital audio reorder, or the like, a file format corresponding to a computer process is considered. For example, as system software corresponding to multimedia, QuickTime is known. QuickTime is software that handles data that varies on time base (such data is referred to as movie). Generally speaking, QuickTime is an OS's extended function that allows a moving picture to be reproduced without need to dedicated hardware. In QuickTime, various data formats can be handled. In other words, up to 32 tracks of outputs of audio data, moving picture, MDI, and so forth can be synchronized.
A QuickTime movie file is largely divided into two portions that are a movie resource portion and a movie data portion. The movie resource portion contains information representing the reproduction duration of the QuickTime file and reference information for referencing the real data. The movie data portion contains video real data and audio real data.
With a video fila and an audio file having such a file format containing the real data storing portion and the reference information storing portion, video data and audio data can be edited as a non-linear editing operation. In this case, both the storing portions may be often contained in one file as a video file or a audio file. In other words, by reading such a file, real data and a reproducing method thereof can be obtained. Such a file is referred to as self-contained type file (first file format).
In another format of a file created by editing a video file and an audio file are edited, after the video file and the audio file are edited, real data and a reference information storing portion are newly created and contained in one file. For example, when two files are combined and thereby a new file is created, the new file is composed of a real data storing portion and a reference information storing portion of which the original two files have been combined. In this editing method, original data may be lost. In addition, as files are edited, a large amount of data should be rewritten. Thus, it takes a long time to perform the editing process. When the original data is stored as it is, both the original data and the edited data are stored. As a result, the recordable capacity of the data record medium decreases.
To solve such a problem, a file that contains only a reference information storing portion that allows only a required portion to be referenced from a real data portion of an existing file may be newly created and edited. In this method, a file that contains only a reference information storing portion as an edited result is recorded to a record medium. A file that contains only a reference information storing portion for referencing external real data is referred to as external-referenced type file (second file format). In the case of the external-referenced type file, a description that designates a file that contains a real data portion that is referenced is required (this description is referred to as reference file information). In the second file format, unlike with the first file format of which a file contains both a reference information storing portion as an edited result and a real data storing portion, the editing time does not become long. In addition, a problem of which original data is not lost does not take place.
FIG. 16 shows a concept of the state of which a self-contained type file 102, which contains a movie resource portion and a movie data portion, and an external-referenced type file 103, which contains only a movie resource portion, have been recorded on a rewritable optical disc 101. The optical disc 101 is a removable disc (attachable and detachable). Thus, a situation of which data of a plurality of optical discs is edited by a personal computer 121 shown in FIG. 17 can be considered.
In FIG. 17, reference numeral 111 represents an optical disc recorder such as a disc recording and reproducing apparatus having a built-in camera or a digital audio recorder. A conventional recorder normally has a reproducing function. The optical disc recorder 111 records video data and audio data to optical discs 101a, 101b, and so forth. These optical discs 101a, 101b, and so forth are inserted into a drive of the personal computer 121. A plurality of files of the optical discs 101a, 101b, and so forth are read to a hard disk 122 of the personal computer 121. Such an operation is referred to as copy or move. The copy is an operation that allows data of the copy source to remain. In contrast, the move is an operation that allows data of the copy source not to remain. Real data (a movie data portion) of a file is not read to the personal computer 121. Instead, only reference information (a movie resource portion) is read to the personal computer 121.
The personal computer 121 pre-installs QuickTime as software. The user edits data on QuickTime. Thereafter, the user copies or moves the edited result to the optical disc 101c. The data recorded on the optical disc 101c is reproduced by a recorder 111. The edited result is recorded in the above-described external-referenced type file format to the optical disc 101c. A reproduction corresponding to the edited result is referred to as program reproduction.
In the method for storing the edited result in the external-referenced type file format, a description should uniquely designate a file to be referenced. In the system shown in FIG. 17, when a file is read from one optical disc to the personal computer 121 and the edited result is rewritten to the same optical disc, a problem of which an unintended file is referenced does not take place.
However, when the edited result is mistakenly copied or moved to an improper disc and the disc contains the same identification information (for example, file name) as that of the movie file to be referenced, a program of which a program irrespective of the edited result is reproduced takes place. In addition, when data of a plurality of optical discs 101a, 101b, and so forth is read to the hard disk 122 of the personal computer 121 and the data is edited, files that are read from different optical discs may have the same identification information. As a result, the edited result stored in the external-referenced type file format may designate an unintended file.